October 6 2011

8:59 PM

Watch: Steele discusses his round

Brendan Steele is making his 27th start of his rookie season on
TOUR. Yes, he's young -- 28 years old, to be specific -- but that
doesn't mean he's immune to the grind of the heavy schedule.

"I'm a little beat up from the year and a little tired," Steele
said, "but I'm happy with the way I'm playing."

Steele

He should be. Not only did he break through by winning the
Valero Texas Open in April, but he's also finishing strong,
too.

He has three top-20 finishes in his last five starts, including
a tie for 10th at the Deutsche Bank Championship, the second event
in the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup. He was also the
third-round co-leader with Jason Dufner at the PGA
Championship.

Then on Thursday morning in CordeValle, he shot a 4-under 67 in
tough scoring conditions, thanks to a bogey-free back nine that
included five birdies.

"It was a little cold and rainy this morning, and the ball
wasn't carrying very far, and we were warming up in the dark, and
it was a little tough to get going early," Steele said. "But once I
made the turn, things started to click, and I started to loosen up
the body a little bit and caught some nice weather on the back
nine."

Steele, who has made 15 cuts in his first 26 starts and should
have no problem making another cut on Friday, is upbeat about what
he's done this year.

"I feel like I've packed a lot of years of experience into one
year with everything from the win to contending in a major to the
PLAYOFFS, and I went to Europe and played a little bit," he said.
"So I've had a lot of experiences this year and I think it'll
really bode well for me in the future."